Responding to mounting media and fans’ pressure, Sri Lanka Cricket has termed Adam Gilchrist‘s the use of a squash ball in his left glove during his World Cup finals innings as “unethical”. And an SLC official, Kangadaran Mathivanan, has indicated that Sri Lanka Cricket may take up the issue at the annual general meeting of the International Cricket Council next month.

“We are of the opinion that it was unethical for Gilchrist to use a squash ball to give unfair advantage,” Mathivanan told Agence France Presse. He said Sri Lanka could call on the ICC’s cricket committee for stringent application of Law 42 on fair and unfair play to ensure only the approved protection equipment was used. He said that SLC would discuss the issue before deciding whether to raise it in London.

At the risk of repeating the episode, two things stand out despite the fact, Gilchrist is a fine spotsman who normally ‘walks’. First, It is against the law prescribed by the ICC. If this is ok, why not an Aluminum bat or Graphite bat? Murali has been cleared by Hospital / Bio-mechanics Dept. at Univ. of Brisbane , and based on their Report by ICC. He is not hiding a cam or a piston under his shirt which gives him the extra turn.Second, the law of physics , as some expert pointed out does give any batsman, a spring effect, which gives an energy to send the ball out of the ground.

ICC cannot just wash it off as ‘ sour grapes’. It is an infringement of the law and it’s interesting to see what they do about it.

I said before, give me real scientific proof that the squash ball gives extra power to gilchrist. you still have not proven it. Getting an idiot from a unversity to write such an accusation does not convince me. I am a university gruduate as well!! LOL!! have you people done any lab test to prove this???

Just because murali did not chuck during the Lab test does not mean he does not chuck during games. everyone with naked eyes can see that he bent his arm during delivery. it is so obvious. The umpires now are too scared to NO Ball him because they knew what happened to Daryl Hair. !!!

ALuminium bat is part of cricket equipment. whatever subjects you put inside your glove are not cricket equipments. why are you sri lankans so stupid.???

Monster ,
What would you have to say If a Sehwag or a Dhoni put some Balls in Gloves and hit a double century against the aussies. Would you still standup and applaud ? you all are bloody hypocrites .
Saying that I dont approve of Murali either or a Shoab Akhtar or a Malinga
or even Brett Lee. If you watch Brett lee in slow motion of those wicket taking deliveries you would from where he generates the power .

I would not say anything if they get hundreds with the help of squash ball. because the ball only helps to grip the bat, it does not give extra power. full stop.

THe difference between Lee and murali is that Lee’s action is clean and pure with naked eyes, murali’s action is dodgy even with the naked eyes. everyone can see that murali blatantly chucks the ball. The ICC has to change the rule to accomodate his action. LOL. THe ICC bowed to the power of the sri lanka board.

I agree that Lee’s action is clean and Murali’s action is suspect. If Murali’s action were clean why would ICC change the rules. About Malinga: He is a thrower. Srilankans compare his slinging action to Jeff Thompson’s which is absurd. I have seen Jeff Thompson bowling and in no way he threw the ball like Malinga does. The more Srilankans moan about the ‘squash ball’ the more they appear as bad losers. The question remains why the Srilankans fielded so poorly and sent down the balls with no line and length? The best team on the day won -the Australians. The Indian reps in the ICC will be foolish to go down the route the Srilankans are taking them! I have very little sympathy for bad losers.

E.R. Ramachandran saig:
“Second, the law of physics , as some expert pointed out does give any batsman, a spring effect, which gives an energy to send the ball out of the ground. ICC cannot just wash it off as ‘ sour grapes’. It is an infringement of the law and it’s interesting to see what they do about it.” Very well said Rama.

What’s the problem with Monster? Is he afraid? Let the process continue and find the answers.

The world is laughing at all the whingers…why…because Gilly was dropped on 31 and a number of other times as well. Some threads have argued the squash ball was working against Gilly and was trying to get him out, but Sri Lanka couldn’t catch so the squash ball said ok Gilly lets rock I’ll stop trying to get you out now…but decided to cut him short of 150….dam that squash ball. I wonder if Sri Lanka knew how to catch a ball and had taken Gilly for 31 (or any of the other chances) if the whingers would be out in force. For all those Sri Lankans who think the squash ball helped Gilly you clearly missed the other 5 one day centuries he scored against you and the 99 run out….making it effectively 6 centuries to one fifty he has scored against you….something he has not come even close to doing against other nation and indicates once you drop him on 31 and he makes 50 you guys are toast. In 2006 in Brisbane he scored 100 of 67 balls against Sri Lanka…that dam squash ball SLOWED HIM DOWN……INSTEAD OF WHINGING ABOUT THE SQUASH BALL TELL YOUR TEAM TO DO SOME FIELDING PRACTICE AND CATCH GILLY WHEN HE HITS A CATCH.

If in the last world cup, in 2003, say, Ponting had used a squash ball when he clobbered India for 140 something, would india have kept quiet ?We would have shouted at the Aussies for cheating.. It’s Australia, when things don’t go their way, which is rare ,shout a lot as they did when they couldn’t read Murali’s spin.They brought even Their Prime Minister to talk about that.When Ponting was runout by a substitute’s direct hit in the Ashes Test in England, he complained to the umpires that a specialist fielder was placed in that position!

By the way, Gilchrist , the ONLY time when he used the squash ball before, hammered 131 off 95 balls against Queensland.It does make a difference, there’s no doubt.He used that with deadly effect in the finals.If he had brought it to the notice of Umpires before he took the the stance, would they have approved? Would Dravid approve of this , against India? Would ANY captain approve of this next time, if the batsman has to take prior approval?Had Jayasurya done this against Australia, they would have done song and dance act about this with couple of statements from their P.M., Ian Chappell, Tony Greig etc.. !Aussies are no angels.Let’s get this straight.

ERR gets it wrong. For example, “When Ponting was runout by a substitute’s direct hit in the Ashes Test in England, he complained to the umpires that a specialist fielder was placed in that position!”

I would side with Ponting here as the substitute concerned was not chosen for batting or bowling abilities , but was a specialist in direct hits and was brought out at a time when England fieldsmen were failing consistently, and was substituted just to strengthen the fielding for Ponting’s innings. it is like bringing Wes Hall for 3 overs to remove a particular player.

No one is saying Aussies are angels. Indians are not either. Gripping is one thing and playing the ball is another as it involves attention and reflex skills etc.. Srilankans did not bowl well, did not field well and that is a fact.

Unlike Srilanka, India and Pakistan (same with West Indies), England, Australia and Newzealand have other spectator sports. In Australia , its football and rugby about which the fans are mad, in Newzealand’s Old Black rugby players are versatile and pull in a very large fan-base, and in England it is football(soccer). Stadiums like Arsenal’s emirates can accommodate 70-80,000 football fans, and it does every 2 weeks when premiership matches are played. It is the number one spectator sport in Europe. At a throw of over $100 per seat per match the soccer player earn millions per year.

If Aussies, Kiwis or English lose world cup in cricket it is no disaster for them. There are other sports for them to watch and encourage unlike Indians, Srilankans, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis who feel let down by under-performing cricket teams

Watching the fast sport like soccer and the skills involved there, even me a club cricketer from Mysore think that Cricket is slow and boring (Pete Sampras the tennis player when asked what he will do if he lost in Wimbledon, he jocularly replied if I feel that my skills are not adequate ‘I will go and play cricket!’).

I think we have devoted acres of words in this worthless argument about a game 90% of the world do not watch or interested.

I have written on this a number of times….funny when I address the reason why it is not against the rules the moderator deletes the entry. Is there a conspiracy here to keep this beat up story going? The debate has lost its focus and is just a rabble of Australian supporters vs upset Sri Lankans. If moderator puts this one through I will address some of the points:

THE SCIENTIFIC CLAIM
The “Scientific” claim: This is truly the biggest joke of all the objections. Some of you have acknowledged this and say it is just the technicality of the rules you object to but many still believe this one. Well get a squash ball and CUT IT IN HALF (that is how Gilly had it) Press it in….it returns to its shape with very small recoil. This is no spring. Recoil is found in many materials….including cricketing pads. If they didn’t return to their position then there would be big dents left in them every time LEE or MALINGA hit them. I could go into how Gilly actually positioned the squash ball on his lower palm in line with his little finger but just under his wrist. Here it actually just acts as a piece of material resisting him bringing his hand around too far into a poor batting grip. Here it would not actually be depressed and in heavy contact with the handle….but I will go on with this scientific crap for a second. The recoil of half a squash ball is so small it definitely would not add any measurable speed to the bat. Further in physics you are forgetting that for every force there is an equal and opposite reaction. If the ball was compressed to recoil it has to push both ways!!! To highlight this take a full squash ball and push on it from the side on a flat surface. It rolls…..why? Because nothing pushes the other way to allow it to compress. Now push it straight down. It compresses but the reason is the weight of mother earth on the other side is a bit hard to budge. When rubber in a glove (i.e. half a squash ball) is compressed then Gilly’s hand is no mother earth. In fact his hand would weigh much less then the cricket bat. Gilly would actually have to grip the bat harder as the rubber would uncompress in BOTH directions. This is also why he wouldn’t actually have the rubber positioned in a spot where it was compressed. Any good batting coach would know having to grip the bat harder with your lower hand when you are striking the ball is bad for you technique. The pads on your fingertips also have recoil and I have actually tested some and compared to half a squash ball. Some recoil quicker than a half a squash ball….funny that. So to all those that just keep repeating the scientific crap actually do some science, I have tried to simplify this so you understand. I will now address the other issues

THE CLAIM IT IS AGAINST THE RULES
On the surface there is a reasonable argument here when you quote a section of rules about declaring items to the umpire etc. However you must realize these rules are just a few rules in the game of cricket and are being quoted out of context. People have got their knickers in a knot about the whole “squash” ball thing. You need to answer a few questions honestly here to understand why it was legal.

I have explained that the scientific benefit is totally unfounded. Given this I then ask you the first question:

What is half a squash ball? When you cut it in half it is no longer a squash ball that is for sure…..they don’t play squash with half a ball and by definition it is no longer a “ball” so get over the squash ball thing……HALF A SQUASH BALL IS JUST A PIECE OF RUBBER.

Further half a squash ball loses its ability to be compressed at pressure as the inside is now open it can’t act like a full squash ball where the air inside can be pressurized. So is again JUST A PIECE OF RUBBER.

When you go onto the field do you declare the rubber in your bat handle to the umpires? No, why because they form part of the cricket bat. Just on this point a team of researches have developed a new material that can better absorb shock. They have a major batting company on board and will be releasing them next year. They are perfectly within the rules as the rules allow shock and vibration materials in the handle. The researches themselves have said they stayed away from the body of the bat as the rules don’t allow such modifications. This bat is being designed in Australia but will be available to ALL cricket players so better tell your team to get some to prevent more excuses. But to quote from a report on them “Traditional cricket bat handles are made of cane with rubber for absorbing shock, and now John and his team have developed a new handle made of a carbon fibre shell containing a polymer insert that absorbs vibrations. The researchers are also hoping to use sensors to help control vibrations. John and his team want to expand the “sweet spot” of the cricket bat, the area on a bat that can hit a ball hard yet not cause unpleasant vibrations for the player. “The bigger the sweet spot, the more forgiving the cricket bat becomes,” he claims.”

Notice how the report uses the fact that traditional bats have rubber in them…..so rubber is legal in the bat handle. Further rubber is employed in its capacity to absorb shock in the design of many cricketing GLOVES. Do you have to declare the rubber to umpires that is in your gloves….no and no one ever has. When Gilly inserted half a squash ball which as I have explained when cut in half is just a piece of rubber, he simply put a piece of rubber into his glove to allow the glove to best suit the needs of his anatomy. With the rubber in the correct place this allows him to grip the bat correctly. This is the major purpose of the glove other than protection. Have a look at the design of batting gloves. They include many features such as cuts in the padding to allow flexibility. This flexibility assists in a better grip. So as explained the overall design of the glove is to achieve protection and assist in achieving a proper grip. As explained materials used to do this include rubber. So Gilly has found a simple way of modifying his glove to better achieve its purpose for him. He does not have to declare the rubber he used in the same way any other batsman does not have to declare the rubber used in their gloves. Many batsman have tailor made gloves for exactly this reason…..do you think it is for protection…no way…the protection of a $40 pair of gloves with no flexibility will prevent broken fingers as well as an expensive pair. What is better in the expensive pair is the materials used better absorb shock in some models and more importantly to this debate flexibility and design is usually better to allow a better batting grip. Gilly’s crude fix to this solution means instead of consulting the expense of a glove manufacturer to insert a bit of rubber inside the glove he has done it himself. Sachin TENDULKAR had a pair of modified batting gloves so if you are going to call Gilly’s innings cheating then you are inferring that the great TENDULKAR has cheated all his life. This is just ridiculous people we all know TENDULKAR was and is a great batsman who played within the rules and used equipment to best display his talents. Gilly has done no different.

THE CLAIM GILLY PUT ON A FREAK SHOW BECAUSE OF IT

So I have explained how the use of rubber (half a squash ball) is legal and within the rules. I have explained how you do not have to declare rubber in your batting gloves to the umpires before play…..it has been this way since rubber was incorporated into the design of batting gloves.
I have explained how the recoil of half a squash ball is no greater than the pads (many of which are a polymer of rubber) in your batting gloves. I have explained how Gilly used it where it would not make contact with the bat anyway and how half a squash ball also loses it’s ability to pressurize. While it will still return to it’s original shape so to do your pads. Funny that. The pads are often in direct contact with the bat handle….hmmmm.
But some people still say that Gilly’s performance was so unusual that he must have been cheating. Strange claim. Does that mean all the batsmen who make a return to form were cheating? Was Jason Gillespie cheating when he scored 200…..well above his batting average? No because historically people have knocks below their average and above their average. BUT BUT Gilly didn’t do so well in the games before the final at the world cup. Gilly scored 30 against Sri Lanka prior to the final…he was dropped on 31 in the final…..so maybe if he had been caught he wouldn’t have done well…in fact not maybe DEFINITELY. The important thing here is Gilly played Sri Lanka in the final. Here is a list of Gilly vs. Sri Lanka in his last 7 digs:
1. 26-Jan 2006 AUSTRALIA won by 5 wickets Gilly 34 runs
2. 29-Jan 2006 AUSTRALIA won by 6 wickets Gilly 116 runs
3. 10-Feb 2006 SriLANKA won by 22 runs Gilly 26 runs
4. 12-Feb 2006 AUSTRALIA won by 167 runs Gilly 0 runs
5. 14-Feb 2006 AUSTRALIA won by 9 wickets Gilly 122 runs
6. 16 April 2007 AUSTRALIA won by 7 wickets Gilly 30 runs
7. 28 April 2007 AUSTRALIA won by 53 runs Gilly 149 runs

No what I was looking for is that in the last seven digs Gilly has scored three centuries but his other four scores are all low or around 30. His career statistics against Sri Lanka include 5 centuries and 2 half centuries…one of the “half” centuries was 99 RUN OUT. So really he was one run shy (run out) of 6 centuries to one half century. GILLY HAS NOT DONE THIS AGAINST ANY OTHER NATION, not even Ireland. He has not scored more centuries than half centuries against anyone but Sri Lanka. And Sri Lanka it is effectively 6-1!!!!! What this tells you is that once he passes 50 against Sri Lanka he will likely make a hundred. I remind you HE WAS DROPPED ON 31 AND AGAIN A COUPLE OF TIMES LATER AS WELL. Sri Lanka had their chances to get him but once he got beyond 50 he was always likely to destroy them. His scoring rate was not significantly better than any of his other 100’s in ODI against Sri Lanka. In fact the 122 in the last ODI against Sri Lanka before the cup he bought up his hundred in just 67 balls…..faster than the hundred in the final.

So no this was not anything unexpected from Gilly and simply occurred because Sri Lanka dropped their catches “catches win matches” is not a catch phrase for no reason. Catch phrase….get it…he he.

Anyway hope this helps all those confused fans. I ask you to look at this and then ask yourself why you are really upset. I understand, when the Windies dominated in the 70’s and 80’s it was hard not to feel resentful of them. But just enjoy the game and stop making excuses. The Windies in the 70’s and 80’s had some arrogant but magnificent players and deserved what they achieved. Australia in the 90’s and 00’s have also had some arrogant players but they have had some good players too and of all the players with the least arrogance Gilly is at the top of the pile. So stop using this recentment as a means to twist a piece of rubber into some miracle reason for losing. Just accept the team that has beaten Sri Lanka 6 out of the last 7 times they have played was the better team on the day. Get on with it and have some fun and better luck next cup. (with a bit of luck Gilly will have retired by then)

steve waugh’s red hankerchief was not part cricket equipment, why didnt anyone complain???
my underwear, head band, wrist band are not part of cricket equipments. but i can use them whenever I play cricket. it is non of your business if use them. THe same go for the squash ball. I can put whatever I like inside the glove, it is personal choice and non of your business. LOL.

how much force can be generated by half a compressed rubber ball. HA HA HA. you people dont know anything about physics. enough to clear the ball over the boundary, is it??? THen every teams can have power hitter like Gilchrist then?? HA HA HA.
GIlchrist is one of the cleanest hittter in the history of the game. it is not the first time he has smashed quick century, what is the big deal??
it was gilchrist’s ability that scored the century, not that bloody rubber ball.

I cant believe you sri lankans even come up with this excuse. HA HA HA.
you cant bear losing, that is all.

Statistics or history has nothing to do with a single game performance. So, do not waste time. What Sri Lankan fans and independent thinkers want is fair ruling. Is it cheating or not? Is it ok for other players to come up with other kinds of foreign objects in their gloves to enhance their performance?
In order to have a better grip, is it ok for bowlers to use foreign objects in their hand or fingers?
Monster, Cricket Player etc. answer these questions in short.

Sam above reply is that short enough for you…if you try to ban rubber in the glove you have to ban everyone who has ever used rubber in a glove…hmmmm thats a lot of cricket. Rubber is integral part of most gloves (good ones) and is a part of the batting handle. But you really need to read my lengthy reply to understand better I feel.

Hope this helps….

Check out this web site:http://in.tech.yahoo.com/041122/139/2i129.html
“Aussie vibrating cricket bats to make sixes sweeter”
A new bat coming out that is designed within the rules. Just so you know it is designed in Australia because some cluey people here but can be used by anyone so hope this isn’t going to be your next whinge when Aussie players try it.

Hay Cricket Player,
Please read the following and try to understand the difference between rubber padding in the glove and a squash ball between glove and hand. Vijitha Herath explained how this squash ball enhanced the performance of Gilchrist. If you are not smart enough to understand the difference, it is not worth discussing this matter. In general, it is impossible to argue with a fool. Monster is a fool and hope you are not.

VIJITHA HERATH of the University of Paderborn, Germany, writes: Apropos the claim that Adam Gilchrist had a squash ball in his left glove during his innings at the finals of the cricket World Cup.

Let me offer a scientific perspective.

A squash ball is a rubber ball. Unlike a cricket (leather) ball, it compresses when pressure is applied on it. When the pressure is released, it take its original shape. In short, it acts like a spring ( e.g.: a motorcycle shock absorber).

So what happens when a batman has a squash ball in the palm of his bottom hand?

When a batsman swings the bat until it hits the ball, there is pressure on his bottom hand. This pressure compresses the squash ball thus storing energy in the ball similar to spring. Just after the ball hits the bat (ball still touching the bat) this pressure starts to relax while the bat is moving forward.

At the same time the energy stored in the squash ball releases its energy to the bat in the form of kinetic energy. The result is that the bat moves faster than normal (without a ball in the glove).

As a result, the release-speed of the cricket ball becomes faster resulting in the ball traveling further before hitting the ground. Therefore it results in more sixes and fours being scored.

The downside is because the bat travels faster than normal the batmen might lose control of the bat. This happened once in the Adam Gilchrist’s innings when the bat slipped out of his hands and fell behind the wickets. If you have any doubts please try to do it yourself and see the result.

In brief Gilchrist’s use of the squash ball allowed him to hit the ball further in the field.

An interesting statistic: Gilchrist faced 104 balls and hit thriteen 4s and eight 6s. All the other Australian batsmen (Hayden, Ponting, Symonds, Watson, et al) faced 127 balls and hit just seven 4s and two 6s.

Lets test the effect putting a squash ball in the glove for srilankan batsmen too. Lets see how much it helps them. If their performance improve dramtically I would admit that’s a performance enhancing device. Otherwise its just sour grapes. I bet others will have hard time even holding the bat with a squash ball inside the glove.

Not a single person living in the real world honestly believe the squash ball adds any extra power to Gilchrist’s swing.

There is not a single offical in the entire game who believes it adds any extra power. It is clearly accepted that it is used to enchance his grip.

Even your own whinging Sri Lankan Secretary says:My personal view is that it was very unethical,” Mathivanan told the Herald last night. “It gave him a BETTER GRIP against some of our best bowlers, and it might be something I take up at the next ICC meeting.

Of course that was rejected by the ACTUAL Sri Lankan Team, who grasps of physics is far better than some idiot in Germany.
————————————————————————————-
That was contradicted by Muttiah Muralitharan. “That is [Mathivanan’s] personal opinion; the team doesn’t think that,” the spinner told the Herald.

“If anything, I would think having a squash ball in your glove would be uncomfortable. I don’t know if I could even hold a bat with something like that in my glove. So if [Gilchrist wants to do it], it is OK with me.”
——————————————————————————–

In case you start whinging about how he has a better grip, remember EVERY Batsman wears different grips to help him better grip the bat. There is no law against that. It still takes skill, timing, vision and power to hit the ball like Gilchrist can.

Of course if you still believe that Gilchrist squash ball can add power to your game. I have a deal for you…….

Oh yeah they said what I have been telling you ALL THE TIME….Finally an authority on the matter speaks up…they have not been bothered becasue they just weren’t believing you guys were serious. You seriously need to take a look at the rules on glove design. The MCC know them and that is why they said:
“Gilchrist’s use of a squash ball was designed to alter his grip on the bat whilst at the crease, something which he was perfectly entitled to do,” the MCC said in a statement Tuesday.

dear cricket player,
i have mentioned this in one of the other blogs.but to find there was no reply from you.ARE YOU AN AUSSIE OR AN ENGLISH.you seem to be multi national(in reality a aussie) who lies about his nationalty.if you can lie about your nationalty who knows what else you can lie about.can’t you be honest with your self and reveal that you are a cowardly aussie(all are the same) who thinks that he enjoys GOOD CRICKET.

if you can lie about your nationalty who knows what else you can lie about.can’t you be honest with your self and reveal that you are a cowardly aussie(all are the same) who thinks that he enjoys GOOD CRICKET.
——————————————————
Thats amusing, coming from “Anonymous”. Why does it matter what nationality cricket player is. His viewpoint is just as valid. Try to avoid having to racially group people, its quite a narrow way of looking at the world. Also please try to avoid the racist remarks, its quite disappointing to have to see.

But its does say alot about Sri Lankan fans, that if the ruling goes against the Sri Lankan fans, they turn to personal insult. Its good to see your moral code of conduct only works when applied to the Australian Cricket Team. Also I am still waiting for the apology to Gilchrist. Time to setup and say your wrong, gentleman.

“Anonymous” I am born in Glossop UK (look it up on Google….nice place and I miss it heaps) I was there most of my childhood and am as a result I am a big fan of Manchester United as Manchester is closest team to Glossop. For your info I have spent a lot of time in Oz and play cricket there so I make no secret of telling you I love the country…..it has nicer weather then my homeland and I have some great friends there. I also studied there. I have never pretended I don’t like Australia but I won’t deny my heritage. This is all besides the point I find it hilarious that you refuse to debate the topic and can’t believe that people around the world think you are a joke. But like Andrew states nationality shouldn’t matter, I think it amazing how many Sri Lankan fans resort to name calling because they lack substance in their argument. By the way I found Gilly playing a bit of club cricket on the weekend and got him to issue this apology, since none of the cowards who have falsely accused a legend will apologise even under the massive evidence proving they were wrong he decided to be the first:

“Dear cricketing world……ohhhh sorry deluded Sri Lankan fans that think they stand on some moral high ground and represent the world. I am of the understanding that you don’t understand the full laws of cricket and have taken my use of half a squash ball inserted inside my glove as cheating. I am sorry you do not understand the laws of cricket in their entirety. I am sorry your lack of understanding could result in you thinking this is cheating. I am sorry that numerous other batsman use modified gloves such as his royal highness TENDULKAR and I apologise to him if this now means your lack of understanding of the rules makes some people question his batting performances. I am sorry the world is laughing at you and that people have kept quite intially out of disbelief that you would even raise this issue. I am sorry Sri Lanka can’t move with the times and most of all I am sorry for the lack of sportsmanship displayed by Sri Lankan fans in accepting a team who has beaten them 6 out of the last 7 meetings is the better team. I am sorry Sri Lanka played without some of their better players in the match against us prior to the final. I am sorry they did this to the fans that payed good money to watch that game and that they have done so against the spirit of the game, as the fans that actually attended and payed for that match agree. But most of all I would like to say sorry to the Sri Lankan fielder who dropped me on 31″

lol the first paragraph yes the Gilly bit was a joke….if only he played a bit of club cricket in my circles….It would be great….You see it proves my point I would actually enjoy his batting even playing against him, of which I have no doubt would involve a lot of running after the ball!!! You should learn to enjoy good cricket too.

SL CRICKETERS WERE CHEATED BY A BUNCH OF ARROGANT & CUNNING KANGAROOS. PONTING & CLARKE RAN ON THE PITCH LIKE WILD BUFFALOES. GILCHRIST PLAYED SQUASH INSTEAD OF CRICKET. THEY SHOWED THE WORLD THEIR TRUE FACE. ICC JUST DONATED THE CUP TO AUS. DIFFERENT LAWS TO DIFFERENT COLOURS.

So Andrew anyone comes up with a scientific explenation which u cannot argue with is an Idiot? On all the other topics u talk as if u r quite the physist… coming up with pretty stupid examples as i said on one of those topics… And here u have no answer bt to call him an Idiot…? Hw pathetic can u be andrew…
And Cricket Player, wts this apology by Gilly written by u? Is it supposed to be funny? well infact it kinda is… it shows everyone the level in which ur mind is working in… (Its pretty low )… Ironic isnt it? the very thing u wrote to humiliate others…

This issue has completely blown out of proportion is what I feel … it has even become a vendetta between skin colours and nations … why all this?

Cricket is just a game … in a game there has to be a winner and a loser. Our cricketers did bow down as gracious losers … and it was exemplary sportsmanship from Mahela, when he decided not to prolong the game, despite the fact that the umpires faultered at the end … so let’s keep these good memories …

Let the officials decide the legality of the issue. It is a question raised because ‘someone’ is not clear of an action … and there are appointed authorities to apprise every individual whether or not this matter is legal, whether or not this practice could be repeated by any team in the future etcetera …. till that happens SIT TIGHT and WATCH. STOP ACTING LIKE A BUNCH OF SECOND GRADERS … How will you stop your kids from ‘name calling’ or scoffing at others … whether or not Sri Lanka is an insignificant Country (so it is called by) is not really important … and it is quite irrelevant I deem … anyone is entitled to raise a question if one does not understand or if it is not a thing done in the past … so let the authorities answer … and it would be nice if the rest of you keep the personal vendettas to yourselves … and keep forcused on the issue here … black, white or coloured we are all humans …

MONSTER… R u sure u r an Uni graduate ? Can u explain why u say that the explanation given is not valid for the action of a squash ball. Well I guess u haven’t done Physics or any science subjects. Also I really don’t believe u r an Uni graduate just bcoz u say so. I thought Australian secondary schools are more advanced compared to SL secondary school. But I was wrong (Even ur Unis r not in our secondary school level) . Of course we do lab tests on laws of physics when we were in year 8 and 9 also advance physics in year 12. So how come u don’t know that. Ur high talks can’t change the laws of physics mate. Australians might try to say Newtons laws are wrong to defend Gilly. haha. Ok if u r smart, just answer this. When it says “no player uses equipment other than that permitted” in ICC law, wat makes u think that the squash ball is permitted equipment. And u said “whatever object u put inside the glove is not a cricket equipment”. Then how come the graphite or spring loaded bats are illegal coz it’s inside the bat. Do u have blonde hair buddy? haha. ICC might say it’s legal coz Australia lick their asses to protect their ass. I challenge u to come up with a good explanation to make me feel wrong regarding wat I typed above. NO STUPID COMMENTS PLS.